NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 09, 2020) — With 10 percent of the global population affected by COVID-19, Dr. Judy Nisbett, Chair of the Nevis COVID-19 Task Force says Nevis is part of the majority of persons who are at risk worldwide, with only six confirmed cases of the virus.

Dr. Nisbett made the comment at the Nevis COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre Briefing on October 05, 2020, at Long Point, while urging persons on Nevis to use the tools available to keep the island safe.

“We have the tools to keep us safe if we use them. These tools are the preventive measures that are at our disposal. We urge everyone to practise the preventive measures and keep Nevis safe. We are on the verge of opening our borders… There isn’t a vaccine yet, and when there is a vaccine, it is likely that the entire population of St. Kitts and Nevis will not be vaccinated right away, with the more vulnerable of our population being prioritised.

“The preventive tools of social distancing and physical distancing, including crowded areas, washing of hands correctly and frequently, wearing of face masks correctly, covering your nose and your mouth, cleaning high-touch areas often, sneeze and cough etiquette, keeping hands out of your face, staying at home if you are sick with a respiratory illness and call ahead before heading to your health care professional,” she said

Dr. Nisbett also reminded of the need for persons to be disciplined and to practise using the tools at hand to keep all on Nevis safe.

In response to a question raised regarding the use of masks for children, the Nevis COVID-19 Task Force Chair said it is unfortunate there are still school children in public places without masks on.

“It’s really unfortunate that there are children still walking around without masks because this is one of the measures that we have been speaking about for a very long time. We really have to encourage persons to get serious about this including the children.

“We know that children six and under are not required to wear the mask because they might not be able to manage, however, persons who are older than that, they are encouraged to wear the masks. With the opening of the borders this is even more important, and therefore we would have to strengthen our surveillance in that area, and work along with the police in ensuring that this happens,” she said.

According to Dr. Nisbett, persons between the ages of six and 11 should be wearing a mask if they are being supervised.

“If they are walking through town and are not supervised technically, we can’t really do anything about that but once they are in the company of an adult, we expect that they should be wearing their masks,” she said.

The borders of St. Kitts and Nevis are scheduled to reopen on October 31, 2020.